This peaceful Italian mountain town is just one hour from Venice – but completely crowd-free
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If planning a Venetian break, consider adding another delightful dimension to your trip and explore nearby, writes Ben West. With overtourism an issue, now is the best time to seek out the peaceful town of Asolo. Venice is gorgeous. The problem is everyone else in the world seems to think so too. In recent years, its issues with overtourism have become so desperate that it has introduced an entrance fee for day trippers in an effort to reduce visitor numbers.
![[Asolo is located in the heart of the prosecco region of Italy]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/08/02/18/Asolo-Prosecco_Estate-%281%29.jpg)
So a day or two of complete contrast – a trip to a tranquil, traditional Italian town stuffed with cultural treasures, and where tourists are a rarity – can add another delightful dimension to a Venetian break. The beautiful medieval town of Asolo, 40 miles from Venice, takes less than an hour to reach if you go by car and has previous when it comes to admirers. Prominent Victorian poet and playwright Robert Browning, Italian actor Eleonora Duse, and celebrated explorer and travel writer Freya Stark, who died and is buried in the town, no less.
![[Piazza Garibaldi is Asolo’s main square]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/08/02/18/Piazza-Garibaldi---photo-by-Ben-West.jpg)
Browning was so entranced by Asolo that he set his 1841 verse drama Pippa Passes here and his last collection of poems, Asolando, was named after the town. He clearly made quite an impression: the main drag is named after him. What’s so delightful about this place is that it has not overly changed since Browning’s day, and there’s a real absence of chain stores, fast-food outlets and shops selling tourist tat that you so commonly see elsewhere. Instead, there are winding cobbled streets, beautiful Renaissance villas and pleasant little cafes for watching the world go by.
![[Villa Freya is an elegant house with beautiful gardens worth exploring]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/08/02/18/Villa-Freya---photo-by-Ben-West.jpg)
